Teahen's return to Kansas City not so triumphant

Sox hope he will find his hitting form against Royals

May 13, 2010|By Mark Gonzales, Tribune reporter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mark Teahen knew he wasn't in Kansas City three games into this season when he hadn't gotten his first hit as a member of the White Sox, struck out in the eighth inning and heard boos at U.S. Cellular Field.

"That was kind of new," Teahen said.

But he understands that's part of his new landscape as he tries to provide the same production at the bottom of the order with the Sox that he supplied in the middle of the order during his five seasons with the Royals.

"Kansas City had so many young players it had a lot of patience," said Teahen, who is batting .226 with 24 strikeouts in 93 at-bats entering play Friday night against the Royals. "I understood right away (with the Sox) that you're held accountable, and I like that. I'm enjoying that and hopefully it gets the best out of me."

The Sox would settle happily for Teahen to show the type of production he had the last five seasons. Although several teammates are in the midst of worse slumps, Teahen is under some scrutiny as a newcomer acquired to help the Sox reach the playoffs over the next three seasons.

Hitting coach Greg Walker has been careful not to force-feed Teahen with changes because of the slow start, with the exception of some extra work near the end of spring training when he also was struggling.

"You don't know a player until you get into the season, when you see a guy scuffle or how he reacts to pressure," Walker said. "It has been a tough start for a lot of people. I think he has handled it well. We know what he can do, what his strengths are. We are emphasizing those. He's a talented guy and a lot bigger and stronger than what you would imagine. We are trying to let him play."

Manager Ozzie Guillen also has been patient with Teahen in hopes he will see the same player who made a habit of wearing out the Sox and Mark Buehrle.

"Since spring training was very bad for him, he started swinging the bat a lot better and he got better at-bats," Guillen said. "You see some symptoms (where) you see something, and the next day you don't see anything. One thing about it, he's going to give you good at-bats and play hard. That's all you can ask and hopefully he helps us swing the bat better."

The Sox currently don't have a full-time alternative at third base, so it's up to Teahen to live up to the expectations the Sox and their fans have.

"Other than the first two weeks of spring training, he has been relatively low maintenance for me," Walker said. "We are continuing to get to know him as a player."